The Earth Phoenix
by teddylonglong
Summary: Ten-year-old Harry Potter suddenly finds out that he is an earth phoenix, and a very old friend takes him under her wing. Very AU! Main persons: Harry Potter, M.McGonagall, S.Snape, Gwendolyn Gryffindor sister of Godric , N.Longbottom, H.Granger...
1. Chapter 1

**The Earth Phoenix**  
**by teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

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**Part 1**

Ten-year-old Harry Potter anxiously tried to hide behind a tree, hoping that Dudley and his gang would become distracted by someone else before reaching him. Of course, it was nothing special that Dudley was chasing him, considering that he did so every day. However, on this day, Dudley was especially upset at Harry, because Harry had failed to get a lower grade in his Maths test than Dudley. '_I tried so hard to give as many wrong answers as it was believable, but how could I know that Dudley did that bad?_' he mused, noticing with trepidation that his cousin was approaching very quickly. '_I need to get away_,' he thought in panic.

All of a sudden – later Harry could not even recall how it happened – his vision expanded greatly, whilst he found himself closer to the ground than before. Looking down at his own body in surprise, he realised that his whole body had changed into... '_A bird?_' he thought, staring at red feathers in disbelief. '_How could I suddenly become a bird? Will I be able to fly?_' he wondered. However, before he could even make an attempt to closely examine let alone test his wings, his whole class was standing around him, staring at him in apparent disgust.

Seeing that Dudley was reaching out to grab him with a sneer on his face, Harry surmised, '_I need to get away from here like that time when I ended up on the roof_.'

Without even noticing what he was doing and why he was doing what he did, he dug into the ground and completely vanished in an instant. He felt a strange pull in his stomach as he burrow-flashed himself to an unknown place that his instinct told him that it was safe. While his classmates were still staring at the empty spot on the grass, where the small hole, through which their avianized classmate had vanished, closed itself like by magic, Harry arrived in a small glade that was surrounded by tall and old looking trees.

'_Where am I now?_' he wondered, anxiously taking a few uncertain steps on his bird feet.

All of a sudden, he heard a whisper. It was the voice of what sounded like an old woman. "Come here, my boy. This way," it instructed him.

地球の鳥

Harry carefully began to set one foot in front of the other and slowly walked in the direction of the voice until he stopped dead in his tracks, and his eyes widened in surprise at the sight in front of him.

The burgundy coloured phoenix with white and pink back plumage stood in front of a huge castle with enormous stone walls. Never before had Harry seen anything so impressive.

"Ah, lad, aren't you a beautiful earth phoenix, just like Gwendolyn was," the voice said gently, neither bothering to explain to a confused Harry what an earth phoenix was, let alone Gwendolyn. "Just come on, lad, go straight to the entrance doors," it instructed him. "I am Hogwarts," it explained, "the castle, which you're just looking at. I'm very old, but I know everything about the magical world, and this place is your home. This is where you belong. For several years I have been awaiting your arrival."

#You're the castle? But how can a castle talk to me?# Harry asked in disbelief, not aware of the fact that his words came out as trills.

"I'm sorry, sweetie, but I can't understand phoenix language. I am only a castle, even if I possess very strong magic," Hogwarts replied kindly. "Why don't you just transform back to your human form and talk to me?"

'_Transform back? Does that mean I'm able to change back? But how?_' Harry wondered.

Seeing that the phoenix seemed to be hesitating, Hogwarts spoke up again. "Are you uncertain how to transform, little one?"

Harry nodded eagerly, looking at the thick walls in expectation.

The castle chuckled a bit. "All right then, just imagine yourself back in your human form. Try to wish yourself back to being a human. That's what Professor McGonagall uses to teach her students. If that's difficult, then try to wish to be able to communicate with me."

'_Okay, I really want to be able to ask the castle where I am and what I'm supposed to do_,' Harry thought, and an instant later, he found himself back in his human form.

"Enter the castle through the entrance door and turn right, but don't go upstairs. Look for the second alcove on the left hand side," Hogwarts instructed him.

Harry hurriedly followed the advice, and a few minutes later, he found himself in a small alcove. Suddenly, the wall to his left moved sidewards, revealing a narrow staircase.

"Excuse me, Hogwarts," he said hesitantly, "where are we exactly? I mean... I know you are this castle, but why am I supposed to be here? And where does this staircase lead?"

The castle chuckled as she began to explain, "Through your father, you are a direct descendant of Gwendolyn Gryffindor. She was the younger sister of one of the four people who built me, and this staircase will lead you to her quarters, which now belong to you as her heir."

"I'm sorry," Harry stammered, "but I think this must be a mistake. I'm only Harry, a freak and a good for nothing burden. I can't be an heir of someone living in a castle."

He looked up in irritation when Hogwarts began to chuckle in apparent amusement. "Do you really think I do not know the grandchildren of my Founders?" she queried. "I knew them all, your father, his father, and all the others. However, none of them was an earth phoenix, and Gwendolyn instructed me to not lead anyone into her quarters but an Animagus, who is able to transform into an earth phoenix like herself."

"Does she still live here?" Harry asked shyly, feeling very uncertain at the prospect of intruding someone's space.

"No, my dear," Hogwarts replied with a sad tone in her voice. "The Founders lived one thousand years ago. These quarters have not been used since then."

"Is anyone else living here in this castle?" Harry asked, feeling uncomfortable at the thought of entering a huge place that had been deserted for a very long time.

"I am a magical school," Hogwarts replied, pride sounding in her voice. "Several hundred students live here for ten months a year, and many of them call me their home. Just now it is quiet, because the afternoon classes have just begun. When you turn eleven, you're going to become a student here, too."

"I will be eleven in two months' time," Harry said, hesitantly eyeing the room, to which the castle had led him.

Although the staircase had led him downstairs, the room seemed not to be situated in a cellar. Through a huge window that was covering an entire wall, he could oversee the grounds, a lake and even the forest, where he had arrived in the first place. The room was equipped with comfortable looking, wooden furniture as was the adjacent bedroom. The bathroom, however, appeared as if it had just been modernized. However, Harry knew better than to annoy the kind old castle with his incessant questioning.

"Harry," Hogwarts pulled him out of his thoughts. "I can only communicate with you because of your relationship to my Founders. Apart from that, I am only able to speak with the Heads of the four Houses and the Headmaster. As I am aware of all conversations that take place within my walls, I know everything about you. I also know that the Headmaster wants you to live with your relatives. Therefore, he must not know about your presence here. I, however, believe that your upbringing was not as it should have been, especially considering that you felt the urge to come here, even if it was not your time yet. Therefore, I will ask Professor McGonagall what to do with you. Please make yourself comfortable here, while I have a small discussion with the professor. She is the Head of Gryffindor House, the House, in which your rooms are situated. Ah and by the way, at the end of this corridor, the ground is soft. That's the spot, from which Gwendolyn used to burrow-flash away, when she was in her phoenix form."

Harry hesitantly took a seat on the sofa in the living room. '_Am I dreaming?_' he wondered. '_Just by trying to get away from Dudley I got a new home? In a castle? A magical school? Wait... magic?_' he thought in confusion. '_But Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon told me there was no such thing as magic_.'

Absolutely exhausted from his first Transformation, he drifted off to sleep.

地球の鳥

Harry woke up to two female voices; one of them he recognised as that of Hogwarts. '_I hope they won't throw me out now; I love being here_,' he thought, anxiously eyeing the elder lady in the dark green one-piece, who was standing in front of him.

"Hello Harry," the woman said friendly and sat next to him on the sofa. "I am Professor McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress, and I was a good friend of your parents. They were both my students during their time at Hogwarts. I heard that you are a natural Animagus and can transform into an earth phoenix."

'_She knew my parents_,' Harry thought happily and nodded shyly. "Hello, professor. I am sorry for intruding here," he said quietly, causing McGonagall to cast him a surprised look.

"If I heard correctly, you have been invited here by the castle herself," she said kindly. "What I would like to know is why you ran away from your relatives, though."

Harry squirmed under her stern gaze and slowly explained about the events at school. "I'm sorry, Professor, I didn't mean to..."

"It's all right, bairn," McGonagall said, soothingly placing her hand on his shoulder. "Do you want me to take you back to your relatives, or would you prefer to stay here?"

"I'd like to stay here if that's possible," Harry replied quickly.

The professor remained pensive for a moment, before she stood up in determination. "Of course it is possible. However, since Professor Dumbledore, our Headmaster, must not know about your presence here, you must remain in your quarters during the next two months until you are officially admitted to Hogwarts as a student. Hogwarts, can you please establish a secret passage between Harry's rooms and my living room, only visible to the two of us as well as Poppy and Rolanda?"

"Done," Hogwarts replied in her gentle, soft voice, and Harry noticed with amazement that a new dark wood ornamental door had appeared right next to the door leading to his bedroom.

"Very well then, Harry, wait a moment. I will call my two best friends. Just like me they will be very happy to have you here," McGonagall said gently, before she strode through the newly made door. A few minutes later, she returned with two ladies in tow, whom she introduced as Poppy Pomfrey and Rolanda Hooch.

Harry immediately liked the three older witches. They asked him a lot of questions about his life at the Dursleys, but they also told him many interesting stories about his parents and seemed very funny. '_I like how they're joking the whole time_,' Harry thought, feeling happier than he had felt ever before.

地球の鳥

After a while, Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey excused themselves, as the Gryffindor Head had to attend dinner and the Healer was needed in the hospital wing. Before they left Harry with Madam Hooch, they called Malcolm and Misty, their personal house-elves, and introduced them to Harry.

Harry stared at the two elves with surprise. Never before had he seen such creatures. However, they could speak normal human language, and they both seemed very nice. '_Malcolm seems very correct, and Misty seems as strict as Professor McGonagall, although she is Madam Pomfrey's elf. I hope they'll never be upset at me_,' Harry mused.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when Madam Hooch ordered Malcolm to bring dinner for her and Harry. "I can..." he stammered but slowly trailed off when the older witch motioned him to take a seat at the beautifully decorated ebony table in front of the large window.

A mere instant later, dinner popped up on the table. Noticing his surprised look, Madam Hooch began to laugh. "The house-elves always overdo it. If you ask for something to eat for two people, you'll be able to feed a whole class. I didn't think about that. So tuck in; eat whatever you like."

"I am supposed to cook dinner, and I'm not allowed to eat at the table," Harry said in a barely audible voice, eyeing the food with anxiousness, while his mouth started watering at the sight of the delicious looking meal.

Hooch cast him a terrified look and finally replied, "Well Harry, at Hogwarts, everything is different from your former home life. Here, the house-elves do all the house-work, and you are supposed to do everything that all the other students do." With that she placed a little of everything on Harry's plate.

地球の鳥

During the following weeks, Harry learned quickly that most things were different from what he had learned at the Dursleys'. He was not a freak but a completely normal wizard, showers were not only too hot or icy cold but could be adjusted to an agreeable temperature, he was entitled to wear clothes that fit, and he was allowed to read books as much as he wanted. Until the beginning of the summer holidays, the three adults took turns teaching him about the magical world and taking meals together with him in his rooms. While it took a while for Harry to get used to his new life, it was difficult for the adults to comprehend that he was completely happy in spite of being locked into his rooms all the time.

'_This place is huge, especially compared to my cupboard_,' Harry thought, '_plus I have so many interesting books to read, I get lots of food, no one calls me a freak. It's like living in a paradise_.'

地球の鳥

It was only a few days before the end of the summer holidays that Harry had his first nasty experience at Hogwarts.

"Why don't you transform into your phoenix form and go fly over the grounds?" Hogwarts suggested one day. "Now that the students have returned home, it should be easy for you to remain unseen, especially if you're in your Animagus form."

From that day at the beginning of July onwards, Harry frequently burrow-flashed himself outside and spent many hours enjoying the nature around the old castle. Soon, a slightly muddy spot right on the shore of the lake became his favoured place. It was surrounded by tall grass that made sure that no one accidentally passing by would see the phoenix but enabled him to observe the grounds at the same time.

He watched the half-giant called Hagrid, of whom the witches had told him that he cared a lot about animals, working around his hut, saw the teachers going to Hogsmeade and coming back, and observed Professor McGonagall, Madam Pomfrey and Madam Hooch flying on broomsticks. Since the beginning of the holidays, the three witches made it a habit to fly together once a day, and Harry admired them enviously for their skill. '_Of course I can fly in my phoenix form_,' he thought, relieved that he finally managed to fly after crashing into the ground a few times at his first attempts. '_But it would be nice to be able to fly even in my human form_.'

One day, the three witches were flying around, chasing a small ball with golden wings, which they used to search for after once releasing it. Harry made it a habit to look for the ball that always tried to hide from the witches' sight, and very often he managed to spot it before Madam Hooch, who usually was the fastest of the three, caught it. All of a sudden, he sensed that the earth shook and rumbled due to thunder. Although the sky was still blue, he instinctively knew that the thunder had not been more than a few miles away and that it was heading into their direction. '_Flying in a thunderstorm must be very dangerous_,' he thought and hurriedly left his hideout. Flapping his wings, he swiftly rose into the air and grabbed the Snitch with his right foot. Unaware of the surprised looks the adults shot him, he pressed the small ball into Madam Hooch's hand, before he landed on the ground and slowly waddled back to his favourite spot, knowing that it was the most convenient place for burrow-flashing back to his rooms due to the softness of the muddy ground.

Only when the adults made a huge fuss later on, when they were having tea together in his rooms, wondering how he could find the Snitch faster than themselves, Harry resolved to be more careful in the future in order to not attract so much attention.

"If Harry gets sorted into Gryffindor, I must convince Albus to abandon that stupid rule about first years not being allowed to play on the house teams," Professor McGonagall said eagerly. "Harry would make a fantastic Seeker."

One day, the earth phoenix observed Madam Pomfrey come out of the castle together with a tall wizard, completely dressed in black. Since his hearing was extremely good when he was in his phoenix form, he automatically overheard their conversation.

"I'm sorry Severus for dragging you to Hogsmeade today," Madam Pomfrey apologized, smiling at the man to her left side.

'_Ah, that must be Severus Snape, the Potions Master_,' Harry realised, recalling what the three witches had told him about the man, who was much younger than themselves and once had been their student.

"Going on a small errand with you is nothing compared to the hell that the next seven years are going to be," the wizard replied, grumpily, causing the witch to cast him a surprised look.

"Why would that be, Severus?" she queried, seemingly astonished.

"Because Potter is going to come to Hogwarts," Snape replied matter-of-factly. "Seeing that he was the spitting image of his father when he was a baby and probably has been spoilt endlessly by his doting relatives, he might be even worse than his father if that's possible at all."

"Oh Severus," Madam Pomfrey said in a soothing voice. "Don't judge the boy, before you have even met him. Maybe he is completely different from his father, even if he looks like James."

'_Oh cool, the professor hates me_,' Harry realised, with a feeling of déjà-vu that reminded him of his time at the Dursleys'.

地球の鳥

A few days later, when Harry had breakfast together with the three witches as usual during the holidays, Professor McGonagall informed him, "Tomorrow morning, Malcolm will take you to King's Cross, the station in London, from which the Hogwarts Express is going to leave at 11 o'clock. Please make sure that you pack everything you need. Probably, you will be able to return to your rooms at any time; however, you must be careful that no one misses you. If you become sorted into my House, which I expect, considering your blood line, this won't be a problem of course. However, you might as well end up in any other House, so that it wouldn't be so easy to come here without anyone wondering where you are."

"Yes Professor," Harry replied obediently, still feeling very grateful that the three witches had taken the time to take him shopping in a smaller wizarding town within Edinburgh a few days ago. They had taken him to Gringotts, the wizarding bank, where he had learned that he possessed a lot of gold, and they had helped him buy everything that he would need for the school year. '_I'll just come here when everyone is asleep_,' he thought but decided to not voice his thoughts. Instead, he asked everything that came into his mind about the train, the travel to Hogsmeade and the Sorting.

When he scrawled into bed that evening, he thought, '_Tomorrow, many children will come, but they're all wizards and witches like me. I won't be a freak here. I'll be like everyone else. Maybe I can even make friends_.'

地球の鳥

On the following day, Malcolm apparated him straight to the platform. "Master Harry, just take a seat on the train. I will see to your luggage," he whispered, only to add, "If you ever need anything of have problems, feel free to call me at any time, just don't tell anyone about it."

Before Harry could do as much as thank the kind elf, the creature vanished with a small pop. He felt a bit unsure among all the children, who seemed to know each other and appeared happy to meet each other after the long summer holidays, so he quickly boarded the train and sat next to the window in an empty compartment.

He felt slightly disappointed, seeing that lots of students just strode ahead in the corridor after a mere glance into his compartment. '_Maybe I still look like a freak_,' he thought sadly, when the door was opened and a boy, who seemed to be about the same age as him, asked shyly, "May I sit here?"

"Of course," Harry replied, smiling at the other boy. Within the next minute, he learned that the boy's name was Neville and that he possessed a toad, which was trying to escape almost constantly.

A few minutes later, a girl with bushy brown hair and a very business-like attitude entered the compartment and made herself comfortable next to Harry. "Good morning. I am Hermione Granger," she introduced herself, giving the two boys a sharp look. "I know everything about you," she told Harry after hearing his name.

During the train ride, the three first years spoke about everything they had ever heard about Hogwarts or the magical world, and Harry had to be very careful not to tell the others that he was in fact living in the castle. In the morning, Hogwarts had instructed him to not tell anyone about the matter, at least for the time being. By the time the train pulled into Hogsmeade, the three first years had already become good friends and hoped that they would be sorted into the same House.

'_Let's just hope it won't be Slytherin_,' Harry thought when he stood next to Hermione and Neville in the Great Hall, exchanging a mutual glance with the black robed professor at the Head table.

_tbc..._

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_Question: Would you like Harry/Hermione/Neville in Gryffindor - or - Harry Slytherin, Hermione Ravenclaw, Neville Hufflepuff ? This will not have any influence on the story's main plot... only for the scenery :P _

_A huge thanks to my friends on facebook and my sons for their invaluable feedback :-)  
_


	2. Chapter 2

**The Earth Phoenix**  
**by teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

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******Part **II – The First Hogwarts Year

Harry anxiously glanced at the Sorting Hat, when Hermione was sorted into Ravenclaw, and inwardly sighed in exasperation, when Neville ended up in Slytherin. '_Oh no, they're the first two friends I ever had, and I can't even be together with them_,' he thought, feeling very sad and upset at the Hat at the same time.

'_Hmmm, this is difficult_,' a small, high voice penetrated his mind as he sat on the edge of the stool, unable to see anything from under the Hat's large cramp. '_Where am I going to sort you? Gryffindor would be too easy_.'

'_I don't care where. I just wanted to be together with my friends_,' Harry thought angrily, only looking up in shock, when the Hat shouted into the Hall, "Slytherin."

As if in a trance, he pulled off the Hat and handed it back to Professor McGonagall, who eyed him with a stern expression and gave him an unobtrusive, small nod. '_At least I'm together with Neville_,' he thought, '_although I'd prefer to not be in a House, where the Head of House hates me_.' He slowly walked to the Slytherin table and sat on the seat next to Neville, which was fortunately still unoccupied.

"Potter!" An extremely blond boy, who had been sitting opposite of Harry, came around the table and slipped into the seat next to him. "I am Draco," he said, sounding slightly snobby to Harry as he added, "Draco Malfoy." The boy cast him an assessing look, before he commented, "I wouldn't have expected a Potter to come to Slytherin."

"My Granny will be so angry," Neville threw in, looking very frightened.

Before Harry could ask why, a huge amount of food suddenly popped up on the table, and everyone became distracted. During the meal, the boys talked with the other first years, and Harry found that everyone seemed to be really nice. '_Everyone seems to think that I'm as normal as the others. I'm not a freak anymore_,' Harry mused, feeling extremely relieved at the thought.

As soon as they had finished eating, Professor Snape strode behind the table and instructed them to hurry up. "House meeting in the Slytherin common room in ten minutes."

One of the older students motioned the first years to follow him and led them to the dungeons, where the group stopped in front of a portrait, which Harry recognised as that of Salazar Slytherin. Often enough had he studied the portrait of the four Founders of Hogwarts that decorated the wall opposite the window in his living room. He barely had the opportunity to look around the common room, before the first years were instructed to sit on the floor in a circle, where the older students surrounded them quickly in an apparently well practised, proficient manner.

All of a sudden, Snape's voice penetrated his ears. Harry had not even noticed that the tall wizard had entered the common room let alone had stepped into the middle of the circle. "You are all here, because you were designated to be here. Being in Slytherin means being a Slytherin through and through," the professor continued, letting his eyes wander over the group of first years. "Each single one of you is responsible to behave in a manner that aids in keeping up and enhancing Slytherin's reputation. Fights or misbehaving in front of members of other Houses will not be tolerated. I expect each of you to study eagerly and do your best for the sake of our House. If you earn yourself a detention with any other professor, you will serve an additional detention in the Potions classroom. Since I do not want to take points from our House, we have our own House-internal point system…"

Harry listened with interest as the professor informed them about a system, in which they could earn snakes for special achievements or get toads for misbehaving. He also learned that Slytherin had a different curfew from the rest of the school and that his House had several special rules. He resolved to do his best to never get on the bad side of the professor. He looked up, startled, when Snape instructed the first years to introduce themselves. '_What am I going to say?_' he wondered, almost beginning to panic, when the professor's snide words pulled him out of his musings.

"Mr. Potter, our new celebrity," Snape sneered, looking slightly agitated as he glared at Harry.

"I'm Harry," Harry said hesitantly. "I grew up with my relatives, who hate magic with a passion. They always disliked me, and I'm very happy to have a new home here at Hogwarts."

"The Sorting Hat must have been drunk tonight, placing a Potter and a Longbottom into my House, the professor uttered, seemingly more to himself than to the students.

However, Neville and Harry, who were sitting in the first row, had heard every single word. Seeing that Neville paled visibly, Harry spoke up. "And why might that be, professor?"

"Potter," the professor sneered, "tell us what you know about Salazar Slytherin."

"Salazar Slytherin," Harry repeated slowly, feverishly trying to recall what Hogwarts had told him about the ancient Potions Master.

"You know nothing?" the professor queried, quirking an eyebrow. "Pity."

"No sir," Harry replied quickly. "I know that he was the Potions Master at his time, he was married to Helga Hufflepuff, he…" He interrupted himself when all students except for Neville burst into laughter.

"That was about the worst you could have said," Draco whispered, chuckling. "The Slytherins don't like the Hufflepuffs at all."

"But it's true," Harry said, matter-of-factly, when he remembered something else that the old castle had told him. "Professor Slytherin was famous for inventing the wolves cure and curing the werewolves."

"Potter," Snape groaned, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "You should have better been sorted into Hufflepuff. There is no such thing like a wolves cure. And now get out of my sight." Without any further word, the professor pushed a string of hair out of his face and strode out of the room, his robes impressively billowing behind him.

地球の鳥

Curfew for the first years began immediately after the House meeting, and Harry curiously eyed the dormitory, which he shared with Neville, Draco and three other boys. Two of them, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, seemed to know Draco very well, and Harry's first impression was that they were both very stupid. The sixth boy, Blaise, seemed to be nice. '_This could have been much worse_,' Harry thought, '_even if the professor hates me, at least my classmates are all right_.'

"Harry!" Suddenly, Hogwarts' soft voice penetrated his ears.

"Hogwarts," he whispered back, smiling at the wall right next to his bed.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't prevent Sopho from placing you into Slytherin," the castle said.

"Sopho?" Harry asked in confusion. "Is that the Sorting Hat's name? And how would you be able to convince him?"

Hogwarts chuckled. "Don't be afraid, little one. The other boys can't hear me," she informed him, noticing that he hesitantly glanced around to make sure that everyone was distracted by their own matters. "Sopho is a magical invention of Godric, just like myself, and as such I am able to communicate with him. Unfortunately, he is extremely stubborn, and over the time, I have noticed that he has made many wrong decisions. We often fight about his Sortings, but I can't do much about it. Only sometimes, when the Headmaster or Deputy places him near enough to my wall, I can give him a kick in the brim. Tonight was such a lucky occasion, and at the moment, he is regretting your Sorting very much."

"Did you really kick him?" Harry asked, laughing inwardly.

"Yes. He is a very sore, poor old piece of cloth now," Hogwarts said contentedly.

"Thank you," Harry replied, smiling. "It would have been nice if he had at least placed Hermione together with us. I really liked her. With Ravenclaw we don't even have classes together," he said, more to himself than to the castle, looking up in surprise, when she instructed him to get ready for bed and stay awake for a while.

"I'll talk to you again in a while. It might take an hour, but maybe I can do something to help you," she promised, leaving Harry wondering what her plan could be.

地球の鳥

At the same time in the Headmaster's office, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore was having tea together with the four Heads of House. Tonight, the Sorting of Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom was the main topic.

"Sopho, can you give us an explanation for your decisions tonight?" Dumbledore queried, eyeing the Sorting Hat, curiously.

"Leave me in peace," the Hat replied grumpily. "I have a bad headache. Everything is this stupid old castle's fault."

"Oh, I see I'm joining this conversation just at the right time," Hogwarts suddenly spoke up, for everyone in the room to hear. "Headmaster, this antiquated piece of cloth made a grave error tonight. Therefore, in order to remedy his mistake, I must ask you to apply a little change to the classes from tomorrow onwards. Ravenclaw must have classes together with Slytherin and Hufflepuff with Gryffindor."

"And why would that be?" Snape threw in with apparent interest. "Not that I would not be very pleased about this change…"

"Because it will be necessary in order to overcome the House rivalry and hatred," Hogwarts interrupted the professor. "All Houses will greatly profit by this change, and it will especially improve Slytherin's reputation."

"Since when are you a Seer, Hogwarts?" Dumbledore asked, slowly popping a lemon drop into his mouth.

"One of my Founders, Rowena Ravenclaw, was a Seer," Hogwarts replied, indignantly.

After a lively discussion, the five professors decided to follow Hogwarts' advice and instantly change the class combinations.

地球の鳥

"So we have classes together with Hermione," Harry said, his voice laced with a mixture of disbelief and amazement. "Thank you so much, Hogwarts."

"You're very welcome, child," the castle replied gently. "I just made a door behind your bed, by the way, connecting your dormitory with the living room in your quarters. So far it is only visible to you, but if you feel that you can trust others and tell them about your identity, it will also become visible to them. I would recommend to not tell anyone unless you know them very well though. And now go to sleep, Harry. It's already very late."

地球の鳥

When Professor Snape quietly swept through the first year boys' dormitory later that evening, looking at his former childhood enemy's son, he noticed with disgust that the boy was asleep with a smile playing on his lips.

'_We'll see if the dunderhead will still be laughing after tomorrow's Potions class_,' he thought grimly, resolving to spend some of his valuable time to prepare some additional fun for the following day.

'_He is also Lily's son_,' a small voice spoke up from the back of his head.

'_But he looks like Potter_,' he countered. '_Bad enough to have a Longbottom in my House. His mother was Lily's best friend_,' he mused, letting out a long sigh as he strode back through the connecting corridor into the solace of his private quarters.

地球の鳥

Harry quickly became used to his new life as a student at Hogwarts. He got along very well with everyone in his own House, but his best friends remained Hermione and Neville. At first, his Slytherin classmates had made displeased comments, when the two boys chose to sit on the Ravenclaw side of the classroom or pulled the girl, who seemed to know everything, to the Slytherin side; however, after a few weeks they gave up and just accepted the situation, especially after Millicent became good friends with Mandy and the two girls also proceeded to sit together independently of their membership of different Houses.

After questioning Harry during the House meeting and in the Potions class on the first day of classes, Professor Snape left Harry in peace, and the boy tried to not attract any attention and was extremely grateful that the professor more or less seemed to ignore him most of the time. However, during their first Flying class, something happened that caused Harry to get into trouble with his Head of House.

After Neville had made a mistake and was injured at his first attempt to fly, Draco played with the Rememberall that Neville had lost on the grounds, causing Harry to launch into the air behind Draco. At first, he felt slightly relieved that it was only Professor McGonagall, who caught them, and not Snape; however, he looked up in shock when his Head of House strode behind the Slytherin table at dinner and said icily, "Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter, come to my office immediately after the meal."

"Oh oh, that means trouble," Draco said on their way down to the dungeons. "I know Snape well. He is my godfather, and he was definitely not pleased. Who knows what the old teabag McGonagall has told him about this afternoon. Anyway, don't say anything; just agree to everything I say, ok? I know how to handle him."

"All right," Harry agreed, feeling very much reassured by Draco's words.

They did not have to wait long. Immediately after Draco knocked at the door, the professor called them in. "Mr. Malfoy, Potter," Snape bellowed, "does any of you recall the number one priority of our House?"

"House unity, sir," Draco replied in a firm voice, innocently looking at the professor.

"Exactly," Snape growled. "Five toads each for fighting in front of people from other Houses. I will not tolerate this behaviour."

"But Uncle Sev," Drao protested vehemently, "we didn't have a fight at all. Harry and I just wanted to use the time, while Madam Hooch was away, to practise Quidditch. Harry told me that he wanted to become a Seeker on the House team. I'd also love to become a Chaser. Professor, is there any way for the first years to attend the House team's practice?"

'_I what_?' Harry thought, looking at Draco in shock. Never had he even voiced such a thought.

"Potter, did you fight with Mr. Malfoy?" Snape queried, glaring at the boy.

"No sir," Harry replied quickly, glancing at Draco.

Snape let out a long sigh and motioned the two boys to take a seat behind his desk. "Very well then," he said slowly. In fact, Professor McGonagall was very impressed by Mr. Potter's Seeker skills, and we could very well use a good Seeker as well as a Chaser." He remained thoughtful for an instant, before he continued, "However, there is the problem that first years are not allowed on the House teams. I will have to try to convince my colleagues to let go of this antiquated rule. However, I can't promise anything. Very well then, I will not give you toads today; however, if you ever again display such a scene in front of persons from other Houses, rest assured that you will have to scrub dirty cauldrons on three consecutive evenings."

A few hours later, Snape informed the Slytherin Quidditch captain, Marcus Flint, that the Quidditch team had two new members, Draco and Harry.

"The best of playing on the House team," Marcus told the boys, "is that for every match we will be awarded three snakes, and if we win, we'll even receive ten."

地球の鳥

During the following months, Harry thoroughly enjoyed himself. Since he had been made Seeker, the professor had never again harassed him in any way, and his House mates loved him after the first Quidditch match of the season, where he managed to catch the Snitch on time to win the match for Slytherin in spite of having problems with his broom.

The only dissatisfying point was that Neville and he could not study together with Hermione, except for in the library, where they were not allowed to talk to each other. '_I wished I could take them into my quarters, so that we could study there_,' he thought frequently. One day, he decided to speak with Hogwarts about the matter.

"I believe that you can trust your friends," the old castle said gently. "Why don't you just tell them about yourself? Take them to the alcove near the entrance hall, from where you originally entered your rooms and ask them to put their hands to my wall. If they come the next time, I will recognise them and let them in if that's what you want."

On a day in the last week before the beginning of the winter holidays, when they were on their way from the Defence classroom to the Great Hall for dinner, Harry said to his friends, "Would you mind missing dinner? I'd like to show you something, and I know where we can get something to eat."

"But won't we get into trouble with the professor?" Neville asked, frightfully eying his friends.

"Then you can tell him that Harry had a headache again," Hermione replied, looking at Harry in concern, when he forcefully rubbed his forehead. "Is it your scar, Harry?" she enquired. "You have headaches very often."

"Yes, I think my head always begins to hurt, when Professor Quirrell is nearby," Harry said slowly. "It's all right though. It'll go away in a few minutes."

In the meantime, they had reached the entrance hall, from where everyone was streaming into the Great Hall.

"Just a bit further ahead," Harry explained and ushered his two friends into the small alcove. He instructed Hermione and Neville to put their right hands on the wall, and an instant later, Hogwarts revealed the staircase and said, "Now I know your friends' magical signatures."

"Thank you Hogwarts," Harry said quietly, before he turned to his friends. "Please follow me. I'll explain everything, when we're there."

Hermione and Neville quietly followed Harry downstairs and curiously let their eyes wander around the room, into which Harry led them.

"Harry, where are we?" Hermione asked, eyeing the medieval furniture in the room with awe.

"In my living room," Harry replied, smirking and shortly explained about his relationship to the Founders. "That's why I can speak with the castle," he admitted, slowly averting his eyes to the floor, as his friends looked at him with a mixture of disbelief and amazement.

While the three friends enjoyed the food, which Malcolm brought for them, Harry told the others everything about his first weeks at Hogwarts, and when he and Neville returned to the Slytherin common room on time for curfew, he felt very relieved and happy that his best friends finally knew everything about him.

Only when the two boys entered their dormitory and Draco and Blaise told them that their Head of House wanted to see them immediately, his heart sank and he looked at Neville in shock. '_Oh no, Snape is going to give us toads for missing dinner_,' he realised, '_maybe even detention_.' Suddenly, he felt very bad for his friend, knowing that the boy absolutely detested the Potions classroom.

"Professor, it's only my fault," he explained as soon as the Potions Master called them into his office and told the man about the headaches, which he always got when being around the Defence professor.

Snape's expression turned from anger over disbelief and surprise to understanding, before all emotions were replaced by the professor's usual blank mask. "Very well," he said thoughtfully, "Potter, if that ever happens again, you will come to me or send any of your friends to call me immediately. Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir," Harry replied firmly, inwardly sighing in relief at the professor's voice that for once held no malice.

地球の鳥

Harry was the only student in Slytherin, who remained at Hogwarts during the winter holidays. Glad that his Head of House merely required that he had to attend all three meals in the Great Hall but otherwise left him in peace, Harry often retired to his own rooms between the meal times. Apart from working on his school assignments, he spent much time reading books and talking to Hogwarts about her past.

One day, Hogwarts sounded very hesitant as she addressed him. "Harry, I noticed something strange about Professor Quirrell." Seeing that the boy looked at her wall in expectance, she continued, "Since you're having problems with him, I have been watching him closely, Anyway, his head has two sides with two different faces. Maybe that has something to do with your headaches."

Harry stared at the wall in shock. "I wonder if Professor Snape knows about this," he said thoughtfully. "I saw him talk with Professor Quirrell alone a few times."

"I will speak with your Head of House and with the Headmaster," Hogwarts said firmly. "I won't mention you in order to not alert them to the fact that we're able to communicate, but they ought to know that something is wrong with one of the teachers."

After this conversation, Harry never saw Professor Quirrell again. When school began again after the winter holidays, several Aurors took turns teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts until the end of the school year, when the Headmaster managed to hire a new professor for the subject. When Harry asked Hogwarts what had happened to the stuttering teacher, the castle told him that the other professors had attacked the man for some reason and that he had been taken to St. Mungo's.

The second half of the school year passed relatively uneventfully and ended with a double victory for Slytherin, as the snakes won the Quidditch cup and the House cup, and Harry felt very proud when his Head of House commended him for catching the Snitch in every match of the season. '_Having been sorted into Slytherin wasn't so bad_,' he thought, when he was sitting in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express together with Hermione and Neville. Making sure that no one was lurking around in front of the compartment, he said good-bye to his friends, asked them to write and if possibly visit him during the holidays, and finally burrow-flashed himself back to his rooms at Hogwarts. '_I hope they're really going to visit me. Hogwarts will be boring without them, even if I now have the invisibility cloak the Headmaster gave me for Christmas so that I can walk around and don't have to stay in my rooms like last year_,' he thought, not knowing that a summer lay ahead of him, which would be the first step to considerably change his life forever.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your many kind reviews... and sorry for the delay..._


	3. Chapter 3

**The Earth Phoenix**  
**by teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

**********Part** III – Phoenix Land

Harry slowly transformed back into his human form, noticing that he felt very tired from burrow-flashing.

"You need to practise more, then it'll become easier," Hogwarts told him, seeing him yawn.

"Well, I have time enough," Harry replied, smirking, "and that seems like a good way to spend the summer holidays."

However, before he could even decide where to burrow-flash, Professor McGonagall stood in the connecting door to her quarters. "Harry, may I come in for a moment?" she asked, sounding much friendlier than she had been during the school year. "I have your books for your second year in case you want to study."

Harry thanked the professor profusely and spent the next two weeks eagerly completing his summer assignments and reading his new books. '_Ah, I wish the new school year was going to begin soon_,' he thought, _'but it's only the start of July. Still I'm very lucky that I don't have to return to the Dursleys' ever again_.'

"Harry!" Hogwarts' voice pulled him out of his musings. "Why don't you go burrow-flashing? Don't flash all the time though, just move around, child. Take a look at the earth. Gwendolyn told me it's absolute amazing down there. She used to spend a lot of time in the earth."

"But how do I just move without flashing?" Harry asked, unsurely.

The castle chuckled. "That's for you to find out, little one. I never asked her, because I had no intention of trying a thing like that. I can imagine that it must be somehow similar to flying though."

"Oh well, I understand," Harry said, shaking his head at the image of a flying or digging castle that popped up in his mind.

"Be careful though," Hogwarts continued. "Do not transform back, while you're in the earth. It could be life threatening if you were in your human form."

Harry agreed and slowly stepped towards the soft end of the corridor, where he transformed into his phoenix form and took a deep breath to calm down and get rid of a slight anxiousness, before he burrow-flashed, thinking, '_To some place inside the earth, where I can see something interesting or meet other phoenixes_.'

In a small wave of mud, he burrow-flashed away, ending up in what seemed like a small chamber. However, there was no window, and the walls and everything else consisted of earth and mud. Small paths led from the different sides of the chamber in various directions. '_Where am I_?' he wondered, taking in all kinds of sounds, of which he could not make out any meaning. '_This is strange_,' he thought. '_It's supposed to be completely dark here without any sunlight or artificial light; however, I can still see everything_.' He noticed several different kinds of small animals that were crossing the room, running around as if they were chasing each other or just sitting in a corner, having some kind of conversation. Harry could not recognize any of the animals. '_They're all brown, just with patterns in other colours, but they're still pretty_,' he thought, looking around with amazement.

All of a sudden, a voice, which he could understand, penetrated his mind.

#Hi there, who are you? A new earth phoenix? I've never seen you before.#

Harry couldn't help smiling at the female phoenix that took a few jumps, landing right in front of him. She seemed to be an earth phoenix like him, but her wings had a beautiful pink colour with purple back wings.

#Hello,# he said shyly. #I'm Harry, and it's the first time I came here.#

#Ohho,# the other phoenix said, smiling. #Have you already been to the earth phoenix land?#

#The earth phoenix land?# Harry repeated in surprise. #No, I just only came here for the first time. Usually, I live together with humans, but now we are on Summer holidays, so….#

#So you thought you might explore the earth for a while,# the girl interrupted him, chuckling. #Very well then, let me take you on a tour.#

#All right, but how?# Harry gave her an uncertain look.

Again, the pink phoenix chuckled. #Just leave everything to me. I know the earth very well. I've been living here for a long time. Just stay put and leave everything to me.# With that she laid her beautiful wings around Harry, so that they completely covered the smaller phoenix, and burrow-flashed them both away.

地球の鳥

If Harry had been surprised at the small chamber, he now could not believe his eyes. He found himself in a seemingly infinite, large room. The room was equally surrounded by earth and mud; however, it was so bright that he instinctively searched for a hole, through which the sunrays were streaming in. However, he could not spot any hole leading out of the earth. Only small openings in the walls led to paths like those going out from the chamber that he had visited earlier. Thousands of phoenixes like himself were flying or walking around, obviously having fun. The air was full of their happy trills. Harry could see many tiny lakes that looked extremely inviting to him, and here and there he recognised bowls with phoenix treats, which seemed absolutely delicious.

#This is phoenix land,# the girl explained gently. #You may do as you wish, eat and bathe, fly around...#

#Excuse me,# Harry blurted out, #why is it so bright here?#

His companion chuckled again. #That's magic. We earth phoenixes have a good connection to the sun, and she always supplies us with enough of her light. To show our gratefulness and respect, the earth phoenixes slowly move the earth in an ellipse around the sun.#

#Really? That's the earth phoenixes' doing?# Harry asked in surprise. '_Wow; they're really awesome_,' he thought, feeling very happy to have found a new friend in form of a phoenix.

Before Harry knew what happened, they were surrounded by several dozen of earth phoenixes that came to welcome their guest.

#Where do you come from? You're not an original earth phoenix,# one of the older birds asked, giving Harry a sharp look.

Harry uncertainly glanced at his pink friend, who gave him an encouraging nod, before he hesitantly explained about himself. #I hope you don't mind,# he added, anxiously observing the others.

#Of course not,# one of the phoenixes replied in a gentle voice. #You're a proper earth phoenix, and that's all that matters.#

#Gwendolyn, you must be thrilled,# a very friendly looking light orange phoenix addressed Harry's friend. #Now you're not the only phoenix with human traits anymore.#

#Yes, I am very happy having Harry here,# Gwendolyn replied, happily fluffing her feathers in excitement.

'_Gwendolyn? Like in Gwendolyn Gryffindor_?' Harry mused, eyeing his friend with interest. However, he decided not to question the girl. '_If she was Gwendolyn Gryffindor, she would certainly tell me so. Apart from that, the Gwendolyn from Hogwarts must be about one thousand years old by now, and my friend doesn't look that old_.'

地球の鳥

During the next few weeks, Harry became used to living in the earth phoenix land and enjoyed himself immensely. He became friends with other young birds, and they spent the whole day playing together. He absolutely loved bathing in mud and splashing around in one of the small lakes afterwards. Gwendolyn was always nearby, and they had much fun together. In the evenings, the older phoenixes often told the younger ones interesting stories, for example, from their experiences in the human world. Sometimes, they even made fun of phoenixes, who were permanently residing in the human word, like for example Fawkes, who was, although a fire phoenix, well known as a mischief maker among the earth phoenixes.

Harry inwardly chuckled. The first time that he had met Fawkes had been a year ago, shortly after he had come to Hogwarts, when Fawkes was playing a prank on Peeves, the totally annoying Poltergeist of Hogwarts. At first, Harry had been very apprehensive upon learning that the fire phoenix was the Headmaster's familiar; however, Fawkes had reassured him that he wouldn't tell anyone about Harry's identity and his presence at Hogwarts. During the school year, Harry had not had much time to transform and go flying, but Fawkes had visited Harry a few times, when he was alone in his own rooms, and the two phoenixes had become good friends.

'_Speaking of Fawkes, isn't it time for me to return to Hogwarts?_' Harry suddenly thought, feeling completely terrified as realisation set in. Glancing at Gwendolyn and the other members of his new phoenix family, he played with the thought of just remaining in the earth phoenix land. Later, when he was alone with Gwendolyn, he told her about his idea, and his friend scolded him vehemently.

#No Harry, you can't give up everything just to remain in your phoenix form forever,# she said sternly. #Don't you think your friends were going to miss you terribly? Can't you imagine how bored you'd going to become after a few years seeing nothing but the inside of the earth?#

#Hmmm, maybe,# Harry admitted in a small voice, #but...# He slowly trailed off, sadly looking at the girl.

Gwendolyn chuckled. #I know. You're dreading the separation from me.# Seeing the terrified look she received from Harry, she explained, #No, little one, I am not a Legilimens like Salazar Slytherin was, but I can sense your feelings, and please believe me if I tell you that I love you very much. In fact, I believe that you're my many times great grandson...#

#You're Gwendolyn Gryffindor,# Harry breathed, excitedly flapping his wings.

Gwendolyn smiled. #Yes, and I'll tell you something. I will accompany you to Hogwarts and stay with you during the school year. How's that?#

Harry stared at his friend in shock. #Really? Would you come with me?# he finally queried, unable to belief his luck.

#No problem,# Gwendolyn replied lightly, fluffing her wings. #Come with me. Let's check what date we have,# she said resolutely, turning to one of the holes in the wall.

'_Where are we going now?_' Harry wondered but obediently followed his friend and great grandmother. It was only a short trip, before they reached another room that Harry had not seen before, although Gwendolyn had already taken him to many interesting spots within the earth. The room was completely empty except for a huge device that consisted of many gears of all sizes. #What is this?# he asked, curiously.

Gwendolyn smiled fondly at the younger phoenix. #This is the earth clock,# she then explained and, pointing her left foot to some numbers that were displayed at the bottom of the device, she announced, #Today is August 20, 1982, and it is 3:26 p.m. Luckily, the time displayed here is exactly the same as the time at Hogwarts.#

#So school is going to begin in ten days,# Harry said in surprise. #I didn't think that already so much time passed since I came here.#

#Time always flies in the earth phoenix land, because it's so agreeable here,# Gwendolyn replied, smiling in understanding.

The two earth phoenixes spent one more day at the earth phoenix land, mainly to say good-bye to their friends and promise to come back as soon as the school year ended next summer, before they burrow-flashed back to Harry's rooms at Hogwarts.

#Ah, it's a strange feeling to be here again after such a long time,# Gwendolyn trilled, looking around with excitement. #Everything seems just as it was when I lived here.#

#Excuse me, Gwendolyn, but why is it that you left Hogwarts and didn't come back even once?# Harry asked curiously.

To his surprise, the older phoenix let out a long sigh, looking at him with a sad expression. #Harry, do you know how old I am?# she finally trilled. #I am almost one thousand years old, and if I transformed back into my human form, I would die instantly. Of course I could live here in my phoenix form, but no one would be able to understand me, not even Hogwarts. Now however, you are here, and being an earth phoenix yourself you'll be able to communicate with me, even if you're in your human form. Apart from that, I think that I'm going to bond to you if you don't mind. That way I'll be able to accompany you even into Slytherin and your dormitory.#

#Oh right, that would be so cool,# Harry replied in surprise. '_I didn't even think of that_,' he mused, before a thought crossed his mind. #Gwendolyn, do you know how to bond with me, or do we need anyone to help us?#

His great grandmother did not reply; however, all of a sudden, Harry noticed a feeling of warmth and happiness spread through his body and instinctively knew that Gwendolyn had bonded to him.

'Can you hear me?' her soft voice penetrated his mind.

'Yes,' Harry thought back. 'Are we now able to communicate through telepathy? This is just awesome.'

'Yes, but don't think I'm going to help you with your tests,' Gwendolyn informed him, sounding much sterner. 'You will have to study even more diligently now that I'm watching you. Now I suggest that you don't tell anyone about my identity and just introduce me to those, who know that you're here, as your familiar.'

Harry agreed and slowly transformed into his human form. 'Somehow it feels strange after being a bird for two months,' he thought, looking up to Gwendolyn, who was now sitting on top of a cupboard, eyeing him with clear amusement.

#Oh my, you're a handsome little one,# she trilled, before she was interrupted by Hogwarts' voice.

"Harry and... oh my, you brought Gwendolyn back here," the castle said, sounding enthusiastic. "Gwendolyn, how dare you just leave and not come back for so many years? I thought we were best friends."

Gwendolyn quickly trilled a reply, which Harry translated for the castle, who protested vehemently. "It doesn't matter if I can understand your words, Gwendolyn. I know that by now you can't transform back anymore. But I'd just be glad to hear your trills every now and then, and alone by the sound of these I can tell if you're happy or not," Hogwarts said in a soft voice.

For a few minutes, Harry interpreted a conversation between Gwendolyn and Hogwarts, before he walked to the connecting door to Professor McGonagall's quarters and hesitantly knocked at the door.

A mere instant later, he was called in and carefully opened the door. "I'm sorry to disturb you, Professor," he began to talk, however interrupted himself upon noticing that the professor was together with Madam Hooch and Madam Pomfrey, who were gathered around the fireplace, looking as if they were ready to kill someone.

_tbc..._

___Thank you so much for your kind reviews... and sorry for the delay..._


	4. Chapter 4

**The Earth Phoenix**  
**by teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

**************Part** IV

Professor McGonagall motioned him to sit down and be quiet, so that the Headmaster, to whom they were talking through the internal Floo network, would not be alerted to his presence, while the three witches continued their verbal fight with the old wizard.

"Lockhart is an absolute fraud," McGonagall said, sounding very angry. "I feel for the students, who have to read all these phantasies in his books."

While the professors were talking, Harry's thoughts drifted back to his summer holidays, until McGonagall's voice brought him back to the present.

"Harry, is everything all right?" the professor asked. "You have been away a very long time."

"I'm fine, Professor. I had a wonderful time," Harry said, smiling, and told the adults about his holiday in the earth phoenix land.

#Don't tell them my real name. Just call me Terra# Gwendolyn trilled, as she flew into the room and made herself comfortable on Harry's shoulder.

"Oh my, how sweet. You have brought a friend with you," Hooch said, gently petting Gwendolyn's head.

"She is Terra, my familiar," Harry explained, feeling very happy about his friend's presence. '_She really feels more like my friend than like my grandmother_,' he mused, inwardly chuckling when the three witches fawned over Gwendoyln.

地球の鳥

During the last few days of the holidays, Harry once again read through his new school books, realising that he had forgotten a lot. He also exchanged a few letters with Hermione and Neville that Gwendolyn gladly delivered for him.

Although Harry regretted that he had not been able to secretly invite his best friends to his rooms at Hogwarts due to his long absence, he had enjoyed his holidays too much to be sad about the matter.

Now, however, he could not wait for the new school year to begin, so that he could meet his friends. '_I just hope that Snape will take it well tonight to have a phoenix familiar in Slytherin_,' he thought, as he held on to Gwendolyn's back wings, so that she could burrow-flash him to King's Cross.

Harry, Hermione and Neville managed to get a compartment for themselves. The travel was spent with many questions about the phoenix land, mostly coming from Hermione.

It was only a few minutes before they reached Hogsmeade that Hermione pulled a small, black book out of her bag.

"I have no idea how I got this. It was in the bag together with my new books. However, it's not a school book. It's more like a diary, and by writing in it, I can communicate with Tom, the original owner of this book." More to herself than to the boys, she added, "He is awesome. He knows almost everything."

While Harry and Neville exchanged a confused look, Gwendolyn trilled into Harry's ear, suddenly sounding very serious. #Tell her to show us. Books don't talk. I feel that this is very bad magic.#

"Hermione, can you introduce us to Tom?" Harry queried, deciding not to translate the phoenix' warning, afraid that Hermione would not cooperate upon hearing his familiar's words.

'Hello Tom, I'm finally back on my way to Hogwarts, together with my best friends, Harry and Neville,' Hermione wrote into the book.

A mere instant later, a reply began to appear under her writing. 'Hello Hermione. I can't wait for you to come to Hogwarts. Contact me when you are alone. I will show you something very interesting.'

'Okay Tom. Bye,' Hermione wrote back and closed the book.

"Hermione, this might be dark magic," Harry said slowly. "I think you should show the book to an adult, Professor Flitwick or Professor Snape maybe. Remember what happened to Professor Quirrell last year."

Hermione vehemently shook her head. "I thought you would be happy for me that I found such a nice, knowing friend," she said, reproachfully.

"Of course we're happy for you," Neville threw in. "However, you're our best friend, and we don't want you to endanger yourself."

Before Hermione could reply, the train stopped at the station, and everyone hurriedly grabbed their bags and headed for the exit.

地球の鳥

Only several hours later, when Harry and Neville returned to their dormitory after the House meeting, Gwendolyn whispered into Harry's ear.

#Harry, you and Neville should go and tell Professor Snape about Hermione's book.#

Harry translated for his friend, and Neville agreed immediately. "Okay Harry, let's do that," he said, turning back in the direction of the common room.

"Hermione is going to kill us," Harry replied, hesitantly.

"Come," Neville insisted, already heading out into the corridor. "You know that I don't want to go to see Professor Snape alone."

Harry shook his head in annoyance. Even after spending a whole year at Hogwarts, Neville was still very scared of Professor Snape. In fact, at the beginning of their first year, Neville had made some grave mistakes in their Potions class, but in the meantime, due to Harry's help, the boy had become quite adept at brewing.

地球の鳥

At first, their Head of House seemed to be very annoyed at the sight of the two second years. However, his expression soon changed to a sneer. "I won't be fooled by a product of Zonko's." He quirked an eyebrow and, seeing that the boys gazed at him blankly, where it was evident that they did not have a clue what he was talking about, he explained, "the joke shop in Hogsmeade. Their products seem to mysteriously be able to adapt to the owner's needs and preferences. If it had not been Ms. Granger but, for example, Mr. Potter, who had received the book, it would surely relay information about Quidditch."

Harry and Neville exchanged a glance, somehow feeling very stupid at the professor's words. "Oh all right then, thank you, sir," Harry said, and the boys took their leave.

地球の鳥

#Ah, that man is thick# Gwendolyn trilled, sighing, when Harry told her about the meeting with his Head of House. #And I tell you, that book contains dark magic. Harry, please speak with Hogwarts. Maybe she can find out something.#

"Of course I'll be able to help you, dear," Hogwarts said kindly, when Harry told her the whole story. "Give me a moment."

Harry, Neville and the phoenix remained quietly sitting on Harry's bed, until the castle spoke up again. "I have put wards on all common room doors and the Great Hall, which will prevent people, who carry dark objects with them, from entering all the rooms. If your friend decides to carry the book with her, which she will certainly do if she is so fond of it, she won't be able to access the Great Hall for breakfast tomorrow morning."

#Hogwarts, you're still the best# Gwendolyn trilled, before she continued to meticulously clean her wing feathers, smiling when Harry translated for the castle.

地球の鳥

In the morning, Harry and Neville were about the first to reach the Great Hall.

"Shall we wait outside?" Harry whispered, wondering if anything was going to happen to their best friend.

"No," Neville whispered back. "Do you want anyone to believe that we were possessing dark objects?"

"Oh right, not really," Harry admitted, and the two boys hurriedly entered the Great Hall, choosing seats at the Slytherin table, from where they could not only oversee the entire Hall but also glance outside if the nearby door was opened.

More and more students entered the Great Hall; however, there was no sign of Hermione, and Harry was just pondering whether to look outside or not, when one of the Ravenclaw prefects stormed into the Hall. He only stopped in front of the Head table, sounding excited when he turned to Professor Dumbledore.

"Professor, several people are unable to enter the Great Hall. I don't know why. Most seem to be Slytherins, but also at least one Ravenclaw student is among them."

Dumbledore remained thoughtful for an instant, before he rose from his chair. Apparently realising that everyone was looking at him in expectance, he explained, "I remember that Hogwarts has done something like this before. She refused to allow people into the Hall or the Houses, when they were carrying dark objects. Maybe this is the case here. Please continue with your breakfast, everyone. I will attend to the matter." With that he swiftly left the Great Hall, closely followed by the Potions Master.

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Hermione stood in the Entrance Hall together with a couple of older Slytherin students and one Hufflepuff seventh year. '_Why can't I enter the Great Hall?_' she wondered, feeling terrified at the thought of being singled out like this. She sighed in relief, when Professor Dumbledore came out of the Great Hall.

The Headmaster quietly glanced around and pensively rubbed his long, white beard, before he informed them about his assumptions. '_The diary_,' Hermione realised in shock. '_Maybe Neville and Harry were right, and it is a dark object_.' She hurriedly opened her bag and handed the book to Professor Dumbledore, who had come to stand right next to her, while Professor Snape was tending to the Slytherins.

"Ahh, a diary," the Headmaster said knowingly. "I remember that in earlier times people have used items like this to cheat during their OWLs. This might be the reason why Hogwarts believes this as something unadequate for a student to carry around."

'_Oh no_,' Hermione thought, horrified. Not wanting to be seen as cheater, she quickly handed Dumbledore the diary, who gave it to Snape, instructing the Potions Master to further examine the object.

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Even if Hermione seemed to be very sad during the following days, Harry couldn't help feeling relieved that the diary had been confiscated and thanked Hogwarts profusely.

"You're welcome, my boy. Any time," the castle replied, gently. "Now I hope that during this school year you won't have to worry about anything but the incompetence of your Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

Harry and Neville full heartedly agreed. '_This year everything will be easier, considering that I have Gwendolyn with me_,' Harry thought, feeling extremely happy.

Unfortunately, the peace and quiet did not last longer than a few weeks. One day at the end of September, Dumbledore spoke to the students at dinner time.

"Yesterday, a diary, which is considered to be containing dark magic, has been stolen from Professor Snape's office. We don't know who is in the possession of this object; however, we deem it as extremely dangerous. I ask you all to be careful if an object shows up around you, of which you don't know the origin."

#I have a bad feeling about this# Gwendolyn admitted to Harry, when he was back in the Slytherin common room later the same day.

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However, only a few weeks later it became clear that her feelings had been correct. One evening, Hermione, Harry and Neville were sitting in the library, working on their Transfiguration homework, when Harry suddenly heard a strange voice. It sounded like from somewhere within the castle and hissed something about killing someone.

"What was that?" Harry asked in confusion.

"What was what?" Hermione queried, casting him a worried look.

"That voice," Harry replied, impatiently.

"I didn't hear anything," Hermione said with apparently growing concern.

"Nor did I," Neville added, questioningly.

'_How come that they didn't hear it? The voice was fairly clear, even if it was strange_,' Harry mused. "Sorry friends, but I want to return to the common room and talk to my familiar. Maybe she knows..." He interrupted himself, when Hogwarts' voice penetrated his mind.

"Harry, stay where you are. Don't walk through the halls right now. Something terrible has happened," the old castle informed him, her usually gentle voice laced with concern.

"Hogwarts," Harry whispered, glancing around to make sure that no one else but the three of them was in the library, "what happened?"

Hogwarts let out a long sigh, before she explained, sounding very tired, "Someone entered Salazar's private chamber and forced Amaterasu, his familiar, out of her rooms. I believe that the caretaker's cat, Mrs. Norris, was so unfortunate to look at her. I'm not sure if she is dead. Maybe she is only petrified."

"I heard some voice saying something about killing..." Harry stammered, feverishly trying to understand what had happened. "Was that Amaterasu?"

"Harry, what does Hogwarts say?" Hermione asked, urgently, making Harry quickly repeat what the castle had told him. "What animal is Amaterasu? A basilisk? I have read something that people die if they look into the eyes of a basilisk, but how..." She slowly trailed off.

"Is Amaterasu a basilisk?" Harry whispered to his old friend.

"Yes Harry, she is, and she is a real sweetie," Hogwarts said gently. "If you understand Parseltongue, can you speak it as well? If so, I want you to visit her and become friends with her."

"But how can I talk to her without looking at her?" Harry asked, terrified.

The castle chuckled. "You need to close your eyes when you enter the chamber and tell her to change her eyes to white. If she gives her okay, and only then, you may open your eyes. I'm sure she will be pleased to see you. You don't have to do this tonight though. Ask Gwendolyn to take you to meet Amaterasu tomorrow. Then you can ask her who visited her, so that you can try to prevent the students from doing so again."

Harry glanced at his wrist watch, noticing that it was almost curfew. "Okay," he admitted, "it's too late today anyway. I'll call Gwendolyn and ask her to flash us to our common rooms."

Two minutes later, the beautiful earth phoenix burrow-flashed Hermione back to Ravenclaw. Harry looked at Neville. "Strange things can happen at this place, and I thought we were going to have a quiet school year."

Neville nodded wearily. "Do you think..." He interrupted himself, letting out a small shout of surprise, when all of a sudden a house-elf popped up in front of the two boys.

The small elf bowed, before he said, "Dobby is honoured to meet the great Harry Potter and his best friend. Dobby is sorry. Dobby did something very bad."

"Hello Dobby," Harry said kindly. "What's wrong Dobby, and what can we do for you?"

Dobby looked at the boys, wide-eyed. "Dobby took the diary from Master Snape's office. It was my Master's order. And now horrible things are going to happen at Hogwarts. It's all Dobby's fault." The elf began to bang his head against the bookshelf.

"Stop that Dobby," Harry said, glancing at Neville.

"Dobby must punish himself," Dobby said, wiping a tear from his face.

"No Dobby," Harry disagreed, reaching for the elf. "You are not a Hogwarts elf, are you? Who is your Master?"

Dobby vehemently shook his head, looking terrified.

"I think the Malfoys are his masters," Neville threw in, pointing at the cloth that Dobby was wearing. "That's the Malfoy crest."

"Dobby," Harry said urgently, "what exactly did Mr. Malfoy tell you to do with the diary? Whom did you give it?"

"Dobby is sorry," Dobby whispered, before he snapped his fingers and was gone with a small crack.

地球の鳥

The two boys exchanged a wary glance. "I'm going to visit the basilisk," Harry finally spoke up in determination. "Maybe she knows what we can do."

"I'll come with you," Neville said, readily.

Harry cast his friend a critical look, noticing that the boy's hands were slightly shaking. "No Neville," he said firmly. "I will call Gwendolyn and ask her to take us back to our dormitory."

As soon as the phoenix had burrow-flashed them both back to Slytherin, Harry spoke with Hogwarts and asked her to make a connecting door from his dormitory to the Chamber of Secrets.

"Very well, my boy," Hogwarts said, seemingly hesitating. "However, you must not forget to keep your eyes closed until Amaterasu has changed her eyes and tells you so."

"I will," Harry promised, impatiently watching the lines of the new door appear right next to the one that lead into his quarters. He slowly stepped through the door, feverishly trying to recall an image of a snake behind his closed eyes in order to be able to speak Parseltongue.

=Amaterasu, Hogwarts told me to visit you and become friends. Could you pleassse change your eyessss to white for me?= he hissed, listening to the slithering sounds coming from farther into the chamber with a slightly queasy feeling.

=Hello little one,= Amaterasu replied after what seemed to take ages. =You may now open your eyes and look at me. I hope that you're a real friend, not like the evil speaker who visited me earlier.=

=What exactly happened earlier?= Harry asked, looking at the enormous basilisk with excitement.

Amaterasu let out a long sigh, before she explained, =A girl and a boy came into my chamber. But they were evil. The boy was a speaker, like you. He ordered me out into the castle's halls without making me change my eyes beforehand.= The basilisk slowly trailed off as her hissing slowly turned into sobbing sounds.

_'It sounds as if she was crying_,' Harry mused, feeling slightly bewildered at the idea. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. =Amaterasu, do you perhaps know who the girl and the boy were? The boy was Tom I suppose, but who was the girl?= _'Thank Merlin it can't be Hermione, because we were together the whole evening_,' he thought in relief.

=Yes, she called him 'Tom', and he said 'Ginny' to her,= Amaterasu hissed.

_'Ginny? As in Ginny Weasley?_' Harry thought, looking at the basilisk in disbelief. _'I need to speak with Snape... but how much do I have to reveal about myself in order to make him understand what happened and where I got this information?_'

=Amaterasu, I will try to help you. I'll come and visit you again soon,= he hissed and hurried back to his dormitory, deep in thoughts. A few minutes later, he found himself entering his Head of House's door without even remembering to have left his dormitory. He quickly took the offered seat behind the professor's desk, glancing at the man.

"Professor, please don't ask me a lot of questions," he said quietly, before he hesitantly provided the information that he had received from Aamaterasu.

To his relief, the Potions Master refrained from asking any questions but instead knelt in front of the fireplaced and spoke with someone about the diary and Ginny Weasley. _'Probably McGonagall_,' Harry thought. _'That's good_.'

The Slytherin Head slowly returned to his desk, quirking an eyebrow. " I believe that you owe me an explanation as to why you knew about the existence of the basilisk, let alone how you were able to get into the Chamber of Secrets."

"Professor, can we please speak about this tomorrow?" Harry asked pleadingly, unable to hide a huge yawn.

To his surprise, the professor relented and instructed him to come back before breakfast. _'Thank Merlin; that gives me some time to consider what to tell him_,' Harry thought and quickly excused himself.

When Harry returned to the professor's office in the morning, he told him that he was able to communicate with Hogwarts, without revealing anything about his relationship to the Founders. To his relief, the professor accepted that he had no idea about the reason for his ability and merely informed him that he had received the diary and had destroyed it during the night.

_'Thank Merlin_,' Harry thought as he hurried to the Great Hall in order to share the information with Hermione and Neville. However, this was not the last he heard from Voldemort.

* * *

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind comments... and as usual: sorry for the delay.  
_


	5. Chapter 5

**Part V**

It was almost twenty months later that Hogwarts alerted Harry to the fact that the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor was using Polyjuice potion and keeping someone else in a trunk in his office. Barely able to believe the story, Harry alerted his Head of House, who together with the Headmaster questioned Professor Moody under Veritaserum.

Upon hearing that the polyjuiced professor and Auror planned to kidnap Harry from the Triwizard tournament in order to reembody Voldemort, Professor Dumbledore cancelled the Triwizard tournament just a few days before it was supposed to commence ensuring that there was no chance of manipulation.

This forced Voldemort to resort to plan B, and a few months later, Minister Fudge's cousin Theodore Fudge was used in a ritual to resurrect him - a fact, which became quickly knowledge, when Voldemort appeared in the atrium of the ministry with the body of the poor cousin, announcing his return.

During the following months, Harry was frequently pulled into visions, where he was forced to observe Voldemort talking to his Death Eaters. When the evil wizard began to attack Muggles almost every night, Harry told Gwendolyn about his visions.

#Harry, we need to do something about that monster# Gwendolyn trilled in determination and promised to think about a plan before the end of the school year.

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After the Leaving feast, when everyone was busying themselves packing their luggage, Gwendolyn suddenly let out a few excited trills.

#Harry, I have an idea how to get rid of Voldemort#

Harry, who was just quietly talking with Neville, abruptly turned around, staring at his familiar. "How?" he asked, impatiently.

Gwendolyn let out a small sigh, before she thoughtfully revealed her plan to him. Harry listened with growing interest, before he interrupted her and queried, "Do you believe it will work? And why should I flash him? Wouldn't it be much easier for you, considering that you have been a phoenix for one thousand years, while I'm not have any experience flashing people?"

Gwendolyn sighed again, before she said in determination #Harry, we should go and speak with Professor Snape about the matter. Do you feel comfortable enough towards the professor to tell him about your Animagus form and also about my identity?# Seeing that Harry hesitated, she added #We could speak with Professor McGonagall, but I believe that Professor Snape has more valuable knowledge about things that matter here. If you don't trust him enough though...#

"No," Harry interrupted her quickly. "In fact, I think I already became used to him and know him quite well. And he has always helped me with everything that concerned Voldemort. It's okay; let's go and speak with him."

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Harry hesitantly knocked at Professor Snape's door, knowing that the professor did not appreciate being disturbed after curfew.

"Potter," Snape said in surprise, pointing to the chair behind his desk.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, sir, but my familiar and I would like to ask you for an advice," Harry explained, glancing at Gwendolyn.

#Harry, tell him about yourself and who I am,# his great grandmother instructed him, listening patiently how Harry explained to the astonished professor everything that Hogwarts had taught him four years ago. #My sister-in-law, Rowena Ravenclaw, was a Seer, and she once told me that you, my great grandson Harry, would be the one to get rid of a very evil wizard. Therefore, I believe that you have to flash Voldemort. Please translate and ask him if he has ever heard anything about you and Voldemort.#

Harry obediently translated her words, causing the Potions Master to become very pensive.

"I believe that there is a prophecy about you and the Dark Lord," he replied slowly. "In order to be on the safe side, it would indeed be better if you got rid of the Dark Lord. Do you have any experience flashing people?" he queried, quirking an eyebrow.

"No sir," Harry replied quietly.

"Then I suggest that you spend some time this summer practising together with your great grandmother," the professor said, smirking. "I shall ask my personal house-elf, Cicero, to attend your practice, so that you can try flashing him." He turned to Gwendolyn. "Ms. Gryffindor, are you sure that the Dark Lord won't be able to escape or survive that place?"

Gwendolyn chuckled. #No Sir# she trilled firmly. #I once went to the big magma, but it was so hot, and I burned myself badly.# More to herself than to the others she added, #Luckily, I managed to get away quickly and burrow flashed to the earth phoenix land, where the other phoenixes took care of me.#

"Very well," Snape said appreciatively. "Potter, inform me, before you attack the Dark Lord. Does anyone know where Ms. Gryffindor's quarters are and how to contact you, in case the house-elves are not aware of the Founders' quarters?"

"Professor McGonagall knows," Harry replied in a soft voice. "She is my guardian, but the Headmaster mustn't know about it. Only Madam Pomfrey and Madam Hooch know." He cast his Head of House a pleading look.

Snape slightly inclined his head as a confirmation, before he opened a drawer of his desk, pulling out a thin silver necklace, which he held out to Harry.

"Mr. Potter, put this around your neck," he said in a surprisingly soft voice. "It is a safety Portkey, which will take you into my personal quarters. The activation code is 'Lily'."

Harry stared at the professor in shock. _'Why would he give me his personal safety Portkey?_' he thought in disbelief. However, noticing that Snape seemed to be determined to have him wear the necklace, he hesitantly put it around his neck and profusely thanked the professor.

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During the first week of the holidays, Harry practised burrow-flashing house-elves, glad that Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey had also offered that their elves, Malcolm and Misty, could help him with his preparation of burrow-flashing Voldemort.

One day, Cicero popped up outside their fixed training time and said, "Harry Potter, Master Severus wishes to speak with you. Please come to his office."

Knowing that he still could not risk being seen by the Headmaster, Harry burrow-flashed into the Slytherin common room, where he transformed back into his human form and turned to the short-cut passage leading to the professor's office.

"Mr. Potter," Snape said in a relatively friendly tone, "I need to go to the Apothecary in Hogsmeade. Are you ready to flash me there?"

Harry stared at his Head of House in shock. "Excuse me, sir," he stammered, averting his eyes to the floor, before he continued in a small voice, "I don't have any experience flashing people. So far I have only flashed elves." To himself he added, _'And they're much smaller and lighter._'

"Do you intend to flash the Dark Lord to the place that your great grandmother was speaking about or not?" the professor asked sharply.

"Yes," Harry replied warily, suddenly feeling like a first year student right before his Sorting.

"Then you must practise," Snape said, quirking an eyebrow.

_'Yes, but I don't want anything to happen to Snape_,' Harry mused, unsurely returning the professor's gaze.

"Cicero told me that you have sufficiently practised with the elves and should now be able to flash anyone." The professor's words brought Harry out of his reverie.

Harry hesitantly agreed and burrow-flashed the professor to Hogsmeade, feeling very much reassured, when they arrived back at Hogwarts, unharmed.

地球の鳥

Only a few hours later, Harry was pulled into a vision, having to observe how Voldemort and a small group of his followers killed a whole Muggle family.

_'Oh no! I don't want that to happen ever again_,' he thought. "Gwendolyn," he spoke up in determination, startling the phoenix, who was deeply engrossed in a conversation with Fawkes. "I'm going to do it now. Can you come and show me the way?"

Gwendolyn insisted that he had to sleep for a few hours and took a light meal, before she finally agreed to proceed with their plan. Once again recalling the major details of their plan, they made their way to the soft end of the corridor. Gwendolyn grabbed Harry's tail feathers, and Harry burrow-flashed away, thinking of Voldemort and his wish to arrive just behind the evil wizard.

地球の鳥

To Harry's surprise, Voldemort was sitting at an antique oak table, deeply engrossed in an old tome. _'He looks so peaceful_,' Harry mused, curiously eyeing the room that from the furniture reminded him of his own living room at Hogwarts. _'Must be very old_,' he thought.

#Now# Gwendolyn whispered, and Harry quickly buried his feet into Voldemort's back, before he burrow-flashed away, straight to a small room near the phoenix land, where Gwendolyn had promised to wait. #Follow me# she trilled as soon as she saw Harry arrive with his freight.

#Where exactly is the big magma?# Harry trilled as he hurried behind his great grandmother, fast enough to not give his passenger any chance of fighting his grip.

#It is the centre of the earth# Gwendolyn explained patiently. #Hold on Harry; it's not far anymore.#

Harry soon noticed that the air became warmer and the darkness lit up a bit. Completely ignoring his burden's human complaints, glad that the evil wizard's new body still seemed to be weak, he arrived at the big magma. It was bright red and burning hot. '_Hurts_,' he thought, horrified, feeling as if he was burning from inside and outside.

#Just drop him# Gwendolyn shouted, and Harry obeyed immediately, noticing in relief that Voldemort's cries died within seconds as the evil wizard succumbed to the burning heat of the magma.

An instant later, Gwendolyn was at Harry's side, covering him with her wings. #Hurry up and activate the Portkey. At Hogwarts, they will take care of us when we become babies# she instructed him and, seeing that he was hesitating, trilled #Lily#.

An instant later, Harry felt his vision fail as they were whisked away. _'Thank Merlin_' was his last thought.

地球の鳥

When Harry's mind slowly turned back to consciousness, he felt extremely cold.

#Hawwy, you awwight?# a cute, baby phoenix voice penetrated his mind, causing him to automatically return an affirmative trill.

When he looked in the direction of the voice, he saw a completely naked baby phoenix sitting right next to him.

#Gendyn# he trilled as recognition set in, before he looked down his own, equally naked body in shock. _'Of course I knew that we both were going to become babies_,' he remembered. _'We vanquished Voldemort_.' #Is Vowdemow gone?# he asked, excitedly.

#Of couwse he is# Gwendolyn said soothingly.

However, Harry felt too cold to be really happy about the matter. Only now he curiously took in his surroundings, realising that they found themselves in a very bright room that was build around a huge fireplace and was surrounded by bookshelves, which reached from the floor to the ceiling. _'An awesome room_,' he thought. _'We must be Snape's private quarters_.' He looked up in relief, when the nearby door opened and his Head of House entered the room.

"Harry?" the professor queried, taking in the two phoenixes on the ground.

Harry let out a series of excited trills, completely forgetting that the professor was not able to understand bird language. He happily snuggled into the soft, green towel, into which the professor gently wrapped him.

"Mr. Potter, is any of the professors able to understand your babbling?" Snape queried as he carefully placed the phoenix onto the sofa next to Gwendolyn, who was wrapped in an equally warm looking silver towel.

Harry remained thoughtful for an instant, recalling that he had bonded to Professor McGonagall, when she became his guardian four years earlier, before he nodded and replied, #Professor McGonagall, sir.#

"Let me guess," Snape sneered, "Professor McGonagall?"

Harry happily nodded his head and let out a series of excited trills that convinced the professor to call his colleague in order to get to know what happened to the Dark Lord. _'Thank Merlin it's warm now_,' he thought as he slowly drifted off to sleep. A short while later, he was brought back to reality, when Professor McGonagall's voice penetrated his ears.

"What happened?" the professor asked in surprise, absentmindedly cuddling the phoenix in the silver towel.

Harry hurriedly explained to the Gryffindor head about their trip to the big magma together with Voldemort, nodding happily, when McGonagall translated for the Potions Master.

"Mr. Potter, may I watch your memory?" Snape finally queried, looking at the baby phoenix. "Thank Merlin you kept your older self's memory."

Harry nodded and looked straight into the professor's obsidian eyes. A moment later, he saw the memories of Voldemort's demise flash to the front of his mind. _'I really did it_,' he thought, feeling very relieved.

"Mr. Potter indeed managed to vanquish the Dark Lord," Snape finally spoke up and rolled up the left sleeve of his black robes, only to stare at his blank arm, where the Dark Mark had been for many years. "Congratulations, Mr. Potter," he said in a soft voice, before he turned to his colleague. "Minerva, we should alert Albus to the fact that the Dark Lord is gone."

"Yes, I'm going to inform him," the Scottish lioness agreed. "However, what are we going to do with Harry?"

"I suggest that we ask Poppy to check on them. I am sure Cicero will happily help me to raise two baby phoenixes until Poppy allows Harry to transform back." He slowly let his right hand run through his silky hair, quirking an eyebrow at his elder colleague. "Do you expect Albus to believe that Harry defeated the Dark Lord without any evidence? We probably have to tell him about Harry's Animagus form and show him the memory."

#No# Harry interrupted the Potions Master. #I don' wan de Headmaster to know...#

"Harry, I promise that I will only tell him what is inevitable," Professor McGonagall promised and stepped into the fireplace, shouting "Headmaster's office."

"Well done, Harry and Gwendolyn," they suddenly heard Hogwarts' voice. "I am very proud of you."

#Fanku, Hogwawts# Gwendolyn and Harry trilled, simultaneously, not bothering that the castle was not able to understand them anyway.

地球の鳥

Three weeks later, Madam Pomfrey finally allowed Minerva to transform Harry back to his human form. The baby phoenix had grown a lot and was spiking tiny burgundy feathers everywhere, but he was still too small and too weak to perform the transformation by himself.

"Harry, are you sure that you want me to change you back now?" the Gryffindor head asked kindly. "As you can imagine, Professor Dumbledore and the Minister of Magic are waiting to bother you with questions and to give you the Order of Merlin first class for vanquishing Voldemort."

#Well, sooner or later I have to endure that anyway, and I still need to do my summer assignments, considering that I have to take the OWLs in less than a year# Harry trilled back.

'_Somehow I think I'm going to miss them_,' Severus thought. _'It was nice to have two phoenix babies in my care, even if I couldn't verbally communicate with them_.' "I suggest that you take Mr. Potter into my guest room in order to give him some privacy," he said gently. "I have instructed Cicero to fetch his robes from his rooms and put them onto the bed in the guest room."

With mixed feelings, Severus observed how Minerva and Poppy took the tiny phoenix into his guest room, staring at the closed door in shock, when the crying sounds of a human baby traveled through his quarters. _'What the heck..._' he thought, just when Minerva emerged through the door with a baby on her arms, loosely wrapped in a black robe.

"You had better asked Cicero for baby clothes," Minerva said in her thick, Scottish accent, smirking as she laid the baby into his arms. "Congratulations, Severus. Instead of raising a baby phoenix, you're now going to become a father to a human baby."

In complete shock, Severus looked down at the baby on his arm that stared back with large, green eyes that unmistakably reminded him of his best friend of all times, Lily Evans. Instinctively, his lips stretched to a small smile, which the baby answered with a happy chuckle.

"Minerva, I am not able to raise a baby," he then said to his colleague, casting the Gryffindor a menacing glare upon seeing her smile fondly at him and the baby. "Poppy, can we raise him back to his usual age?"

Pomfrey shook her head. "No Severus, physically, he is a real baby. You cannot just age a baby, even if he mentally is a fifteen-year-old. I'm sorry."

Fortunately, the Headmaster chose that instant to step out of the fireplace and decided that Severus and Minerva should raise Harry together, promising to make the house-elves change Severus' guest room into a nursery and add a connecting door to Minerva's quarters.

地球の鳥

_'At least he doesn't know that I'm able to communicate with Hogwarts and can just ask her to connect the nursery to my own quarters_,' Harry mused, feeling extremely self-conscious, when the Potions Master carried him to the guest room and fastened a nappy, which McGonagall quickly conjured, around his bum, before he dressed him in a beige jumpsuit with a burgundy red earth phoenix on the chest that eagerly flapped his wings when Harry looked at it.

"Fanku Pwofessows," Harry whispered, feeling his cheeks get red from the embarrassment.

'Now I have to grow up again instead of becoming a fifth year in a few weeks' time,' he thought to Gwendolyn. 'On the one hand, I'm sure I'm going to have a better childhood this time, but on the other hand, it will be boring, especially as I already know everything that is taught until the end of the fourth Hogwarts year.'

'Let me tell you something,' Gwendolyn replied, sounding very happy. 'Please ask Professor McGonagall to change me back to my human form as well. I'd love to be a baby and grow up together with you as twins. Believe me, we're going to have so much fun, especially with all our memories.'

地球の鳥

_**Eleven years later...**_

"Harry and Gwendolyn, are you ready to become first years again?" Minerva asked kindly, when she and the Potions Master were having breakfast together with the twins in the Headmistress' office.

"Yes, I can't wait," Gwendolyn was the first to reply. "Aunt Mione and Uncle Neville promised to be on the Hogwarts Express, too," she said happily, and Harry eagerly nodded his head.

"Yes, and it'll be fun to meet the new first years," he said, smiling as he thought of the prank potions, which he had recently brewed together with his sister, using every unsupervised minute, when their parents and godparents had been in staff meetings.

"Very well then, your father is going to take you to King's cross in a few minutes," Minerva replied, questioningly glancing at the twins' adoptive father.

"We can burrow-flash," Harry threw in, immediately knowing from his parents' expression that they would definitely not allowed to do so.

However, before Minerva or Severus could reply, the former Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, spoke up from his portrait behind Minerva's desk. "Sopho, where are you going to sort the twins?" he asked, curiously.

The Sorting Hat let out a long sigh, fluffing his crumple. "With the father being Head of Slytherin, the mother not only Headmistress but also Head of Gryffindor, the godmother Head of Ravenclaw and the godfather Head of Hufflepuff, what do you expect me to do?"

"Don't sort them at all, you stupid Hat," Hogwarts' voice suddenly filled the room. "Gwendolyn and Harry are my children. They are the rightful owners of Hogwarts and as such don't have to be sorted into a house. They belong to all houses, and don't you dare decide anything else tonight, or you will be too sore to ever sort students again." With that the whole castle shook, causing the Sorting Hat to fall off his shelf.

The twins rushed to a free spot on the wall and hugged the wall, inwardly chuckling upon hearing Fawkes ridicule the poor Hat from the top of his perch.

"Thank you, Hogwarts..." Gwendolyn shouted happily, and Harry added, "You're the best."

**The End**

_Thank you so much for your kind comments throughout this story... Special thanks to my Facebook friends for their continuous encouragement! _**  
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